Nigeria Book Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 Spot In Spite of Fierce Carthage Eagles Comeback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in his team build a commanding lead, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria weathered a stunning late rally from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament being held in the host nation.
The Super Eagles appeared to be in complete control in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a three-goal lead with only a quarter of an hour left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder free-kick, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were given a spot-kick after a video assistant referee review identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. The left-back converted in the 87th minute to create a frantic finale.
The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a stunning equalizer in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley past the upright.
Securing Top Spot
This result means that Nigeria, winners of the competition on three past instances, advance to 6 group points and are guaranteed top spot in their pool with a match still to play.
In the next round, they will meet a third-placed team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, the 2004 champions remain on three points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on one point after playing out a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The final pool fixtures will see Nigeria remain in Fes to play Uganda on the next matchday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to confront the Taifa Stars.
A Nervy Conclusion
The Tunisian defender smashed the ball from the penalty spot to offer Tunisia a glimmer of hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, finalists in the previous tournament, become the next team after Egypt to reach the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What looked like set to be a straightforward last period morphed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for an infringement before breaking the deadlock right before the interval, expertly guiding a header into the far post from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was doubled early in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to power home a header from a Lookman corner.
Osimhen then turned provider Lookman for the third goal, before the defender to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the fightback.
The pivotal incident came when a looping cross struck the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, the 2004 champions in the end fell short of completing a remarkable recovery.
Their fate remains in their own hands; a point against Tunisia will be enough to see them through, and their coach will be keen to prevent a recurrence of the 2013 early elimination that led to his departure.
